As of: March 12, 2024, 1:46 p.m
By: Bona Hyun
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Despite the war in Ukraine, Russia continues to ship liquefied gas - sanctions are not yet in sight.
An embargo would hit Putin in a sore spot.
Moscow – The business with Russian liquefied natural gas in the EU is flourishing.
One or two of the relatively new Russian ships call at European liquefied natural gas terminals almost every day, reports
Wirtschaftswoche.
Imports from Russia have also increased by 40 percent since the start of the Ukraine war.
As a result, new money continues to flow into Vladimir Putin's war chest.
Apparently, Russian liquefied gas is still welcome in the EU – for a reason.
Liquefied gas from Russia apparently continues to be welcome – no sanctions in sight
The fact that the LNG comes from Russia is a purely commercial decision.
“Russia is probably simply the cheapest provider at the moment,” said gas market expert Sebastian Gulbis in an interview with
Wirtschaftswoche
.
However, security of supply in Europe is currently good.
So there doesn't seem to be a fundamental supply problem.
For Putin, the LNG business is an important source of income.
© Alexander Ryumin/dpa/SNA/imago
Nevertheless, according to Gublis, an embargo on Russian gas would pose certain challenges and could restrict gas supplies in the eastern part of the EU.
According to the expert, it is primarily the eastern and southeastern regions of the EU that still rely on Russian gas from pipelines.
Sanctions against Russia: Could the EU afford a gas embargo?
To date, no sanctions have been imposed on gas deliveries from Russia.
Gas deliveries are excluded from the EU's 13th sanctions package against Russia.
However, the economy believes that sanctions on Russian gas make sense.
The “Economist” Ulrike Malmendier called on the EU to boycott gas.
“The EU would be well advised to stop purchasing any more gas from Russia and to resolve possible problems in solidarity,” said the economist at the
Rheinische Post
.
There are now good alternatives.
Energy expert Georg Zachmann from the Bruegel think tank argued similarly.
He is of the opinion that Europe could now do without LNG imports from Russia.
In Belgium, Russian liquefied gas currently accounts for eleven percent of total consumption, in France 13 percent and in Spain 25 percent.
“There is now a good supply of LNG on the world market again,” says Zachmann to the
Tagesschau
.
“Prices have fallen significantly, and if Russian LNG were no longer bought in Europe, ports with the same import infrastructure could import other LNG.”
LNG deals are Putin's sore point - Russia wants to triple deals
Sanctions on Russian gas deliveries would hit a sore spot in Putin's face.
The LNG business is an important source of income for the Kremlin and is now almost as important as the remaining income from pipeline deliveries.
According to the Tagesschau
, experts currently estimate
the volume of LNG transported to and across Europe to be worth around twelve billion euros annually.
The president even wants to triple the business in the next few years.
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The goal is to drive Europe into a renewed dependence on Russian gas, Russian environmental activist Vladimir Slivjak told the
Tagesschau.
With his organization “Environmental Defense” he received the Alternative Nobel Prize in 2021 and had to leave Russia to avoid being imprisoned.
Without transshipment in EU ports, LNG trade would be significantly more difficult and expensive for Russia.
Independence from Russian gas in the Ukraine war: Germany is expanding an LNG terminal
Russia has officially stopped supplying gas to Germany via traditional pipelines since 2022.
But the reason for this is not the sanctions.
In order to become more independent of Russian liquid gas and continue to secure energy supplies, Germany wants to significantly expand its LNG terminals.
There were warnings in advance about LNG plans that were too large.
According to the “Global Oil and Gas Exit List” database, Germany is planning long-term capacities of 69 billion cubic meters (bcm, from “trillion cubic meters”).
That is more than the 54 bcm estimated by the federal government in March.
This makes Germany one of the four largest builders of LNG terminals – along with China, Vietnam and India.
(bohy)